Appellate court upholds Goldstick's conviction

The Michigan Court of Appeals has upheld the 2005 first-degree murder conviction of a Charlevoix man who shot and killed his long-time friend and fellow VFW member.

In an unpublished opinion released Thursday, Oct. 4 the three-member appellate panel found no merit in the issues raised by David Edward Goldstick, 59.

On Dec. 9, 2005 a jury convicted Goldstick on the first-degree murder charge following a five-day trial. He was sentenced to serve life in prison, the mandatory sentence for a first-degree murder conviction.

The conviction stemmed from events that took place on April 20, 2005. On that day Goldstick used a handgun muffled by a home-made silencer to shoot and kill Bill Brady, 79. The killing took place in a temporary office for the Charlevoix VFW organization in the back of the Brady family's storage shed next-door to the VFW property off U.S. 31 in Charlevoix.

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Goldstick made repeated statements to police in which he admitted to the shooting. Testimony at the trial indicated that Goldstick was afraid that Brady was about to discover that Goldstick had taken money from the VFW's account.

Appeals are automatically filed on behalf of defendants convicted of first degree murder.

In the appeal, Goldstick's attorney asked the court to overturn the conviction on the grounds that:

— Goldstick's admissions to police should not have been admitted to evidence because he did not fully understand the implications of waiving his right to remain silent.

— Goldstick was denied a fair trial because of the pre-trial news media coverage of the case and that his defense attorney should have asked for a change of venue.

— Demonstration and other evidence shown to the jury was unfairly admitted.

The court found no merit in the arguments.

The court did find that photographs of Brady taken after the shooting were likely more prejudicial than probative (explanatory), but found the error "was harmless because of the overwhelming evidence against the defendant."

Goldstick is currently lodged at the Macomb Correctional Facility in New Haven.